And We're off!

Today the journey began. This morning I woke up at the not-so-bright, but very early time of 2:45 AM. Despite the early hour, I hopped out of bed and immediately started to get ready.  Throughout the night, I had woken up several times remembering items that I had forgotten to pack. I quickly gathered these items and within minutes my mother and were out the door and headed to El Cerrito High School.

Once we arrived, Don and several other ILCers greeted us. Don weighed my luggage and I was pleasantly surprised. It was only 38 pounds! Since I only brought one carry on, I now have room to add 12 pounds of luggage in my checked bag plus another carry on. Hopefully I wont buy too much in New York, but it is nice to know that I have room.

 

Everyone from the Columbia group arrived early, so after a quick group picture and a pep talk from Don we were left with plenty of time to say goodbye to our parents. At 4:30 AM, a giant charter bus pulled up at El Cerrito High. After saying a final goodbye to my mom, I got on the bus filled with excitement for the next four weeks ahead.

While driving to SFO, I made sure to look out of the window at San Francisco and the Bay. I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place, and wanted to appreciate the wonderful view one last time. San Francisco, however, is a relatively small city compared to New York and I can’t wait to experience the vibrant culture and activity of such a massive urban area.

When we arrived at SFO, there was a slight confusion with baggage. There were two identical bags. Brian owns one of these bags and a girl from another cohort owns the other. Unfortunately, they were switched and Brian ended up with the wrong bag. Lucky, he caught this mistake early and he was able to get his bag back. The rest of our time in the airport ran smoothly and we quickly boarded the plane and headed east to New York City!

After a relatively uneventful plane ride, we landed in New York. Once we went outside, I was struck by the green landscape. Unlike California where grass must be constantly irrigated in order to stay green, the frequent thunderstorms on the East Coast keep the landscape lush. As we drove closer to the city, the green grass and forested areas slowly faded into an urban landscape. Eventually, the buildings grew taller and closer together and we found ourselves in the heart of New York City. 

At 6:00 PM, we arrived at our destination, the Beacon Hotel. After receiving our room keys, Margaret and I headed up to explore our room. We were overjoyed to see that there was kitchenette in the room. Although we probably wont have anytime to cook, just knowing that we have a ton of miniature appliances is exciting.

After an hour to unpack and rest in our room the cohort headed Keens, possibly the oldest steakhouse in America. Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed thousands of antique pipes covering the celling. The walls were coated with old photographs and paintings. The building contained so many artifacts that it could be considered a museum as well as a fantastic restaurant.

After much consideration about what to order, I decided to get the T-bone steak. Unfortunately, I failed to realize it was 26 ounces and I was pretty intimated when the plate arrived in front of me. I made better progress than expected, and finished almost half of it. It was absolutely delicious. The rest of the steak is now sitting in our mini-fridge. I must say, I am happy that one of our kitchenette’s appliances is being put to good use!

After such an exciting day today, I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store. I am so excited to visit Grant Central Station and Sara Lawrence College.